Tray

ARTICLES ABOUT TRAY BY DATE - PAGE 4

A stylish kitchen takes more than top-notch appliances. A well-placed accent can make the whole room pop. Dress up your kitchen with these artful accents. -- Rebecca Little home&garden@tribune.com 1. COLLAGE ART John Derian makes collages from antique letters combined with other elements to create unexpected designs. This handmade glass tray could serve as art for the kitchen, or perhaps as a tres fab spoon rest. Rectangle tray measures 6 inches by 9 inches. Cost: $88; at lilleashop.

You can add a soothing splash to your deck or patio with this fountain project from Beckett Corp., which makes water gardening projects. Here's what you need: - A pump for small to medium fountains. Beckett recommends its M130, which pumps 130 gallons of water an hour at a 1-foot lift. - Half-inch vinyl tubing. - 3 lightweight flowerpots in small, medium and large sizes. - 2 matching drainage trays in medium and large. - Decorative rocks. Drill a half-inch hole in the bottom center of each flowerpot and drainage tray, except the largest pot. Place the pump in the bottom of the large pot. Connect the vinyl tubing.

A Chicago Ridge nursing home was fined $55,000 this month after a patient who was not allowed solid foods was given a food tray and choked to death, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced this week. The male patient, who had lived at the 231-bed Chicago Ridge Nursing Center, 10602 Southwest Highway, since September, had a feeding tube and was under a physician's order not to receive solid foods, according to the state agency's investigation. A nursing assistant provided him with a meal tray without notifying the head nurse, and he was later found unresponsive with food lodged in his windpipe, the report said.

Don't commit a party foul on Sunday and make your guests sick. Food safety experts say perishable foods should not be out for more than two hours. "Beyond that time, the bacteria can get a real hold," said Kathy Bernard, project coordinator with the USDA meat and poultry hotline. Though there are some exceptions to the two-hour rule, sometimes it's best not to leave it to chance. "If you don't know how long the food has been out, it's best to pitch it," said Dave Grotto, a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association.

Some of Evanston's youngest environmentalists have learned the benefits of recycling--and the sluggishness of bureaucracy--in their attempts to rid school cafeterias of white foam lunch trays. Members of Dewey Elementary School's after-school club, Roots and Shoots, thought they would be eating from cardboard trays this year in a pilot project. But school officials say that although they embrace the idea, it will take time to overcome obstacles, such as the additional cost and weight of cardboard trays.

Police were searching Wednesday for a Homewood man who is believed to have impersonated a doctor in order to gain entry to a south suburban hospital the day before. Once discovered, he was escorted out and fled in a car, briefly dragging a hospital security officer, Hazel Crest police said. He also escaped arrest when he ran off after police later stopped the car he was driving. But police believe they know the man's identity. He is thought to be 22 and alleged to have donned a white jacket and stethoscope to pass through an entrance to Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest just before 6 a.m. Hospital spokeswoman Maureen Daugherty said he may have entered through an employee entrance, although he would have needed an identification card.

Easy hors d'oeuvres give a big bang for the buck: They afford huge pleasure and praise from guests for very little work. Like cheese crisps. These are an adaptation of "frico," the delectable crisp wafers made in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Italy, from fried Montasio cheese. Rather than frying cheese in a non-stick skillet to make single round crisps, make big sheets of them by baking them in the oven. In this simple method, cheese is shredded, then tossed with a little flour to provide a stabilizing starch that will make it easy to remove them from the pan without breaking.

I'm afraid of trees. Put me in the middle of a concrete-and-steel jungle, and I can hunt for food in a steakhouse, find shelter in a bookstore and easily navigate my way around the rumbling streets with a handy GPS device. Take me to the woods, though, and I'm lost. Where are the sirens? What's that noise? Is a bear about to eat me? And all these trees! They have things living in them -- just like the skyscraper condos of downtown, but at least city folk won't poop on your head or steal your picnic lunch.

Half the fun of hosting a holiday party are the accoutrements -- not just the festive decorations, but also those fancy serving platters and trays that dress up your food and beverages. Even with delicious appetizers and expertly mixed drinks, presentation can make all the difference. Impress your guests with these functional and stylish serving pieces, all of which also can be used for the rest of the year's parties. Rebecca Little, home&garden@tribune.com Big birds These artful nesting trays (no pun intended)

Mother Nature is the ultimate designer. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Nature is an endless combination and repetition of a very few laws." From the forest to the sea, branch patterns are the ideal combination of sleek lines and organic design. Consider bringing these elements indoors as the weather turns cold to mimic the landscape as it becomes more spare. --Rebecca Little, home&garden@tribune.com White plate special The delicate-yet-dramatic design of the Black Forest plates varies slightly by plate size.